BSG 40 - A Discussion on Bay State Games with Dave McGillivray

December 8, 2022

As we are winding down on the 40^th anniversary of Bay State Games, we dug into some history. Who better to discuss this than with one of the founders of Bay State Games, Dave McGillivray. You may have heard of him before. He is the founder and president of DMSE Sports Inc. and serves as the race director for some of the biggest road races around the world, including the Boston Marathon.

Before all of that, in 1978, McGillivray completed the Run Across America running from Medford, Oregon to Medford, Massachusetts. He finished his run at Fenway Park and gained notoriety through this run, which raised funds for the Jimmy Fund. He later opened a running store in Medford and began putting on events to promote the store.

How did McGillivary first get involved with Bay State Games?

Doing all these athletic endurance feats, McGillivray got immersed in sport marketing and the event management world and got invited to be on Governor’s Council for Physical Fitness and Sports. He immediately accepted the invitation because he thought it was so cool. The Council would meet three or four times per year, and early on, most of the time was spent brainstorming what they might be able to initiate for athletic programs in Massachusetts. McGillivray recognized there were State Games programs in other states. Being familiar with Olympic Games, McGillivray thought the next best thing to hosting the Olympics is to host amateur games in the state. He led the charge and started putting together the plan for the first Bay State Games.

A little bit of history on the State Games movement: The concept of State Games began in New York in the late 1970s with the creation of the Empire State Games. Massachusetts was part of the next wave of states to create State Games programs in 1982, along with Florida, Alabama, and Pennsylvania.

Who did McGillivary recruit to get involved? Who were the key people to make Bay State Games happen?

The first thing they decided to do was get folks on board to help with this project, which at the time was called Sports Fest. They floated out that they were looking for someone with a skillset in event management and operations, and it happened to be Doug Arnot. Arnot’s brother, Bob was a medical correspondent for local TV and the Arnot family had strong contacts. The Council decided Doug Arnot was the guy and hired him in 1982 to lead the efforts.

If you’ve never heard of Doug Arnot, he has been a big part of some of the world’s largest sporting events over the last 30 years. After his time at Bay State Games, Arnot held positions on the organizing committees for four Olympic Games and was the Executive Vice President of World Cup USA 94. He has been an advisor for four other Olympic Games and multiple world championships. To say the least, Arnot was for sure “the guy.”

The first year was like dipping a toe in water. There was no infrastructure, and the organization had a small budget from the state. (McGillivray noted, “we walk before we run”). The first couple of years was a pilot program. There was no name or logo. The name Sports Fest was ultimately used. There were just 4-5 sports in summer with 200-300 athletes. The first few years of Sports Fest looked like this.

Over the next several years, Arnot developed the program into what became known as the Bay State Games. Arnot served as Bay State Games Executive Director for 10 years before passing it on to Pete Thomsen, followed by Charlie Noonan and Linda Driscoll, until current BSG Executive Director, Kevin Cummings, became the director in 1999.

What was the biggest obstacle in the early Bay State Games?

The biggest obstacle to getting Bay State Games off the ground was funding. Funding would end up coming from grants and sponsorship, but at the beginning there were none. Bay State Games relied heavily (as we still do) on a great group of volunteers. They got the local colleges involved to host the tournament.

How has the landscape of sport changed since incorporating the Bay State Games in 1982?

It’s first important to separate pro sports from amateur sports. On an amateur level, when Dave started the business of putting on road races, he was almost ridiculed. He was told, “you think you can earn a living putting on road races?” Dave’s response was, “I’m not putting on road races; I’m helping to raise the self-confidence and self-esteem of thousands in America. A target or mark to go after, get off the couch, motivate themselves to stay healthy. Run the race, get the medal, go home feeling good about themselves. Core of sport is that.”

There is a competitive component to sport. For most of us, the chance to be a participant runs out in high school or college. We then transition to being a spectator. BSG offers the kind of opportunity to participate well beyond those years, which Dave compares to the Boston Marathon. We can’t all run in Olympic Games, but we might have the same drive or desire an Olympian has. While the Boston Marathon has qualifying standards (goals, earning the right to run the “holy grail”), it gives the opportunity for “ordinary” people to achieve athletic goals they never saw possible. The similar objective of participatory sports and competitive sports is to feel good about yourself. It is the foundation by which we accomplish anything in our lives. The want to get better, the want to get healthy.

At its very core, the landscape of sport has not changed other than more and more people are finally getting it. The pandemic, as bad as it was, also encouraged people get outside more and walk, run, bike– get some exercise. The hope is that it will bode well down the road as events come back and maybe they will choose to participate resulting in higher participation than pre-pandemic.

Dave’s motto is that as years go by the walls of intimidation begin to crumble and people begin to believe in themselves. Dave believes the Bay State Games do that (he’s right). At the end of the day, Bay State Games is about promoting personal development, education, physical fitness, teamwork, and sportsmanship to athletes around Massachusetts. Once we decide it’s time to participate (or compete) for the love of the game, or for the sake of being athletic, those barriers begin to fall, and we remember how Bay State Games came to be in the first place..

Check back every Thursday for more throwback content.

Week 36 - Berkshire Hero

Week 35 - BSG 35th Anniversary (2016)

Week 34 - 1996 Winter Games

Week 33 - Nancy Kerrigan

Week 32 - BSG Alumni (Winter)

Week 31 - BSG Alumni (Summer)

Week 30 - BSG 30th Anniversary (2011)

Week 29 - 1998 Winter Games

Week 28 - 2009 Top Shots

Week 27 - BSG Internship

Week 26 - BSG T-shirts

Week 25 - BSG 25th Anniversary (2006)

Week 24 - Future Leaders Scholarship

Week 23 - Athlete of the Year

Week 22 - 1988 Top Shots

Week 21 - 1998 Top Shots

Week 20 - BSG 20th Anniversary (2001)

Week 19 - 40th Top Shots

Week 18 - Rugby Joins the Games

Week 17 - Entry Books

Week 16 - Standin' in the Hall of Fame

Week 15 - Soccer Showcase

Week 14 - Time to Showcase

Week 13 - Title IX

Week 12 - BSG Summer Figure Skating

Week 11 - BSG No-No

Week 10 - BSG 10th Anniversary (1991)

Week 9 - BSG Logos

Week 8 - Bikes Only

Week 7: Seeing Double at Track & Field

Week 6 - Pat Connaughton, Baseball Star

Week 5 - 1996 Summer Games Top Shots

Week 4 - Spot the Hall of Famer

Week 3 - Let's Jump!

Week 2 - 1994 Top Shots

Week 1 - Light the Cauldron

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Bay State Games Awarded a B.A.A. Gives Back Grant

November 24, 2025

Fall edition of the B.A.A. Gives Back Grant Program awards $125,000 to local non-profit organizations

Bay State Games Announces 2025 Future Leaders Scholarship Recipients

November 18, 2025

The Bay State Games has selected six statewide scholarship recipients for the 2025 Future Leaders Scholarship Program. These student-athletes were selected from a large applicant pool after a process that included committee reviews of all applications and virtual interviews with selected applicants. These future leaders were selected based on their achievements and involvement in academics, community service, athletics, and leadership roles. The Bay State Games Future Leaders Scholarship program was established in 1989 and has since distributed nearly $400,000 in financial aid. Each of these high school seniors will receive a $1,000 scholarship for their first year of college. “Bay State Games is proud to continue the Future Leaders Scholarship program which since 1989 has provided over $400,000 in aid to support the continuing education of outstanding young leaders." said Kevin Cummings, Executive Director of the Bay State Games. “These well deserving student-athletes have excelled in the classroom, on the field and in the community, representing a variety of schools, sports and regions across Massachusetts” This year’s six scholarship recipients are Elyse Bissada, Brooke Blahut, Abigail Howie, Olivia Laaper, Sabina Mackechnie, Molly McIntyre. Elyse Bissada is a senior at Dover-Sherborn High School, where she is a four-year varsity field hockey and track & field athlete, as well as the team captain for both sports. In 2025, Elyse was a member of the Bay State Games Southeast field hockey team where she won a gold medal. Elyse is the founder of the Veterinary Medicine Club at her school and in her free time volunteers at local farms and Animal Rescue Leagues across the state. Elyse has committed to play field hockey and study biology at Hamilton College, where she plans to pursue veterinary medicine and ultimately establish an affordable low-cost clinic that serves her community. Brooke Blahut is a senior at North Quincy High School where she is a 4-year varsity member of the soccer team, and captain of the varsity ice hockey team. Brooke is also a well accomplished figure skater. She began skating at age 2 at Winterland Skating School and is now a U.S. Figure Skating Gold Medalist. Brooke has participated in Bay State Games annually since 2016, medaled 6 times, and is a 4-year Bay State Games High School Ambassador. Brooke is also the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Ambassador for NQHS. Brooke is Vice President of her class, a member of the National Honor Society and Science National Honor Society and academically ranks in the top 5% of her class with a 4.6 GPA. Brooke is a two-time team leader and participant in the FBI Teen Leadership Academy and plans to pursue her master’s in forensic science and criminology and become an FBI Special Agent. Abigail Howie is a senior at Wilmington High School, where she is on the varsity soccer team and is captain of the Winter and Spring Track teams. Abigail serves as President of Student Council and the Wildcat Service Council, where she founded the “Bridging Generations” community initiative. She is a member of the National Honor Society, DECA, and Best Buddies. Abigail coaches a Wilmington fourth-grade team and is a USSF-certified soccer referee. She has most recently created an Alzheimer's Awareness community service project for her senior year. She hopes to continue her athletic career in college while studying sports management and marketing. Olivia Laaper resides in Stow and is a senior at Fusion Academy in Burlington. Laaper has been a captain of multiple high school sports teams including Track & Field and Swimming. Olivia is captain of her archery team at Riverside Archers and has won multiple medals in archery at Bay State Games and state competitions. Beyond athletics, Olivia has gained hands-on experience in emergency medicine as a high school intern with Pro EMS and plans to take her EMT certification this fall. She gives back to her community by lifeguarding and coaching youth swimming at Goldfish Swim School, volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters and at local food banks. In college, Olivia plans to pursue a degree in nursing with a minor in emergency medicine and psychology. Sabina Mackechnie is a senior at East Longmeadow High School where she is a three sport athlete and captain in Soccer, Basketball and Lacrosse. She has earned all-league and second-team All-Western Mass honors in soccer and lacrosse. Sabina has been a By State Games Ambassador for two years and is a member of her school's Athletic Leadership Council and Pink Ribbon Club. Sabina participates in canned food drives and fundraisers for her school sports teams. Sabina will continue her lacrosse career at Springfield College while pursuing a degree in Education. Molly McIntyre is a senior at Norton High School where she is a three-sport captain in cross country, basketball, and outdoor track, earning multiple TVL All-Star honors, and MVP awards. Molly serves in key leadership roles on Student Council, DECA, Best Buddies, and five National Honor Societies. She volunteers at local youth sports programs, community events, and the MSG Gregory Trent Foundation. Molly works part-time at a donut shop and local ice cream store. She plans on attending Stonehill College where she will compete in track and study Finance and Marketing. For more information on the Future Leaders Scholarship Program, click here. For a list of past recipients and the colleges and universities they've attended, click here . About the Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation/Bay State Games The Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was established in 1982 to host the first sanctioned state games of the Commonwealth. It operates with the mission of promoting personal development, education, physical fitness, teamwork, and sportsmanship to Massachusetts citizens of all ages and abilities. The Foundation is recognized for hosting high quality, Olympic-style events through the Bay State Summer and Winter Games, as well as educational programs, including the Future Leaders Scholarship Program, and the High School Ambassador Program.